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Monday, May 18, 2009

Then answered Zophar the Naamathite and he saidtherefore my thought makes me turnand as such, haste is in me(1)mentoring of my insult I hearand the spirit of my understanding makes me answer

do you know this from oldfrom the setting of the human on earth?for the joyful cry of the wicked is near-termand the gladness of the hypocrite but a momentthough his rising ascend to heavenand his head touch the cloudlike his own dung, in perpetuity he perishesthey who saw him say - where is he?

as the dream he will fly away and they will not find himand he is chased off as a night vision(2)eye sighted him but not againand his place will no longer look on himhis children will seek acceptance of the deprivedbut his hands will return their vigorhis bones are full of youthbut with him in the dust they will lie down

if evil is sweet to his mouthhe hides it under his tonguehe shows it mercy and does not abandon itbut holds it among his tasteshis bread is turned in his intestinesthe bitterness of asps within him

wealth he has swallowed and he will disgorge itfrom his belly the One will cast it outthe head of the asp he will suckthe viper's tongue will slay himhe will not drink from rivers of oil(3)streams of honey and butter(4)from returning toil and not swallowing wealthhe will recompense and will not be a peacock(5)

for he has bruised - he has abandoned the depriveda house he despoils that he did not buildfor he will not know his loot in his bellyand in his desire he will not escapethere is none left to eattherefore none will writhe for his goodin the fullness of his abundance he is shortevery hand of misery comes upon him

he is to fill his bellyand he casts on him the heat of his angerand he will rain on his picniche will flee from the kiss of ironand the brazen bow will pass through himit is drawn and comes out from the backas the flash from his bitterness goes outon him are horrors

all darkness is hidden in his treasuresfire not blown consumes himone left in his tent will trembleheaven will reveal his iniquityand earth rise up against himrevealed is the increase of his housepoured out in the day of wraththis is the portion of the wicked human from God(6)and the inheritance spoken for him from the One (7)

(1) Clines and Tur Sinai have a lot of emendations to the first part of Zophar's speech but none of them seems necessary. TS is very complex, continuing to refer back to his attribution of the night vision of 4:12 to Job. Clines cites a number of problems and solutions with verse 2, a verse that seemed, for once, understandable for me with what is a close to literal translation. All I have admitted to (following TS who adds 'this' and translates 'in order to' as 'because of') is that freedom to allow a preposition to mean what it seems to need to mean. I have no problem with the opening 'therefore'. It anticipates the reason for Zophar's desire to correct quickly the perceived insult implied by Job's words (paying no attention at all, like many righteous whom I know of, to his own insulting words). He is muttering to himself and his thoughts come out as if in mid stream. All this relates to his defense of the continuing harangue over the fate of the wicked.(2) This repetition might support TS - or Zophar is belittling Eliphaz by giving his own opinion on such 'visions'. There is little interaction among the friends themselves.(3) Following TS whose reading of drink makes much sense in the context.(4) This verse caused revisions to all my uses of נהר - stream, river, and נחל wadi, torrent in prior chapters. I had been mixing them up in my loosely-coupled mind. It may be that they are quite mixable. After all they are both water related.(5) TS has 'cannot swallow' - the MT appears here to be incomprehensible without adjustment - I chose peacock to rhyme with a subsequent use of the same word later on - but if the text is 'wrong' through corruption of copying and pointing, then anything goes - right?(6) אלהים rare in Job (6 times in the speeches)(7) אל which I have now rendered as the One